It was a nice, peaceful day as Percy walked hand-in-hand with his mom through the street. His mom was telling Thalia and Luke about her stories as they listened to her keenly. The street was bustling with activity as people around them walked. Percy was excited. The day couldn't get any better. And to be fair, it didn't.

The sky went dark, with the sun getting obstructed by the clouds. Raindrops were falling on their heads back-to-back with enough force to disorient them. Fog surrounded the small group. The only thing Percy could see was that he was separated from his company, with the clouds making it impossible to locate them. His head started to spin with the mist that surrounded him.

Percy heard a horrendous screech from above. He looked in its direction, but he couldn't see anything through the mist. He heard another screech from the right, heading straight towards him. A human-sized bird crashed into the space Percy had just rolled away from. The bird turned towards him. It lacked a beak, and… it was a harpy. A harpy with the face of an ugly old hag, with creepy red eyes that sent chills down his spine.

Someone yelled from behind him. It was Luke. Luke charged the harpy and attacked it with all his might. Percy's hands went into his pockets, but there was nothing there to use. Where did my pen go? He looked back towards the fight but the fog had hidden both the fighting figures from his sight.

He walked on, trying to locate Luke and the harpy. There was a loud bellow in the distance, one achingly familiar. He could hear footsteps close to him. He looked around, concentrating, hoping to see whatever it was. A woman came into view. His mother.

"Percy!" she exclaimed as she pulled her son into a hug. She then released him, taking a few steps backwards. He could hear something charging towards them, splashing the water around on the way so loudly you'd think they were diving into a pool. Percy couldn't see. He wanted to tell his mother to get out, but he couldn't. Something huge crashed into his mother, taking her away from him.

"Mom!" he cried out. Tears started flowing out of his eyes as he saw his mom die. Maybe for good this time. He was too scared to protect her. Too weak.

The boy was stumbling about in a daze, as he crashed into something. Something solid and rough. He focused. It was gigantic, almost as big as the bull-man. Percy looked up into its eyes… one huge eye. The cyclops pulled one of its hands back in a wide arc and swung it at Percy. He closed his eyes, anticipating the hit. A moment passed, and he heard the sound of the hand slamming into something. But it wasn't Percy. He was fine. He opened his eyes, and saw who was slammed away. It was Thalia. She lay on the ground, limp.

Percy's tears and the water from the rain started to weigh on his face. It was too much. He was just a boy. A boy who'd just turned twelve. He didn't deserve this. He wasn't supposed to fight these beasts at such an age. He shouldn't be. He heard a loud hiss. Another hiss. Too many of them. A loud stomp. A loud cry. The cry of a crazy man charging into a wall. He looked up. It was… Luke. It wasn't Luke. But he looked like him. Only bigger, broader, and more… monstrous. The veins on his arms and neck were jutting out of his skin, like they would pop out at some point.

Percy watched in horror as his brother figure killed each and every one of the monsters as if he were one of them. Slashing, hacking, stabbing into their bodies. Luke killed them without mercy. Until he was the last one standing. He turned back, and Percy could see him illuminated prominently in the fog. There was a sadistic grin on his face. One that Percy didn't like. Luke opened his mouth. A bright beam of light emitted from him, no, it. And then it's ears. And lastly it's eyes. Percy wanted to scream, but he was too terrified to even react. The light coming from this apparition of Luke dissolved the figure it was emitting from, leaving a bright ball of light that blinded him.

Percy blinked. He didn't blink, per se. He opened his eyes and then closed them immediately, before squinting. He was still feeling the effects of that nightmare.

"He's awake!" he heard a familiar voice call out. Grover. The satyr.

Percy's eyelids parted a bit more, and he could clearly make out his newest friend standing over him.

"Is he?" a girl called out as she came over. She was about 15, which was Thalia's age. Where is she? Where is Luke? "Look at me, boy".

Percy looked at her. The girl had blonde hair, and bright blue eyes, wearing a lab coat . She sported a kindly expression. "How are you feeling, Percy?"

"My head hurts", he groaned.

"Does it hurt anywhere else?"

"Ah, no". He shifted to make himself more comfortable. Instantly, he groaned again, clutching his side. "Actually, it hurts here".

The girl nodded, although he could see she was smiling. "Stay here, and don't move too much. You don't want to overexert yourself".

Percy nodded. Once she left he asked, "Was she a doctor?"

"You can say that", Grover replied. Percy didn't know what he meant, but that wasn't the question in his mind.

"Where are we Grover?" Percy looked around. It was a room with white all over, with the exception of his friend and some details here and there. He was lying on a bed, a nursing bed to be exact. He figured he was in some sort of hospital.

"We're at Camp Half-Blood's infirmary. The camp is where I was guiding you. Remember?"

Percy nodded. He remembered. He remembered things he didn't want to remember, and he most certainly didn't want to mix up his memories with nightmares.

"What happened there?" he asked groggily.

Grover grimaced. "We were ambushed by Cyclopes at the hill near camp".

"What about Luke and Thalia?" Percy turned his head around the infirmary, hoping to see either one of his friends. Hopefully they weren't hurt.

Grover gulped. "Luke is fine and outside. I'll go tell him you're up".

Percy waited for him to say more, but he didn't. "And what about Thalia?"

Grover opened his mouth to say something, but he didn't. He bleated. "Thalia is…" his voice cracked, "Thalia is dead."

"...What?" Percy said in disbelief. He pictured the last he had seen the daughter of Zeus. She was fighting a Cyclops. She didn't die.

Grover stumbled over his words "She, uh didn't die, actually. A bolt of lightning hit her," A blinding flash, "and a tree took her place. We think Zeus saved her by turning her into a tree."

Percy couldn't wrap his mind around what he'd just heard. Does this mean Thalia died, or did she not? Did Zeus 'save' her, or - what the heck is this?

"I'm sorry, Percy. I really am." Grover looked close to breaking down. "It's all my fault. I should have known. Cyclopes mimic human voices to lure their prey."

"It's okay, Grover", Percy replied, fighting the lump in his throat. "It - It wasn't - it wasn't your fault. It was Luke and Thalia that charged in without asking you".

"But still, I should've warned them. I was supposed to be the protector. I'm - I'm the worst protector of all time."

Percy chuckled, although there was no humour in it. "If Thalia and Luke are fighting, you can't protect them. And you definitely can't protect them from whatever managed to beat them. No need to beat yourself over it. Besides, I remember you fighting with a stick. That looked badass."

He didn't fully believe what he was saying. But it was true. Grover wasn't at fault here. Percy was. If only he'd used the gift for himself. Before being in trouble. Maybe he would have killed many Cyclopes there, and Thalia wouldn't be that worried about protecting him. Inside, he knew that Thalia died protecting him while he was concussed. He could briefly remember a glimpse of her hair falling down to the ground in front of him; he would recognise those blue streaks anywhere.

But Grover said Thalia didn't die. And if she didn't die, then she didn't die. She was still out there. And maybe, just maybe, he'd find her again.

The doctor girl came back, carrying a small flask in one hand and a small dish containing some cubes in the other. It was weird to think that this girl, just a few years older than twelve year-old Percy, was a doctor. He supposed that all demigods were overachievers.

"Here you go. Eat this" she took one of those cubes and held it near his mouth. Percy hesitated but ate it. He was taken aback by the taste. It was so… so delicious. Tasting like one of his mom's blue cookies. He also felt energised by it.

"Good. Now drink this" she held out the flask for him. It contained a transparent liquid inside. So sparse, Percy thought it was empty. He took the flask in his hand, looked at it for a second before shrugging and gulping it down.

Whoa. He felt even more energy coursing through his veins. And he savoured the taste. So delicious. Percy couldn't even describe it, but it was something alright.

The girl grinned, and Percy could swear that was the whitest set of teeth he had seen. "Feeling better?"

Percy nodded enthusiastically, "Yeah, I feel much better."

"Try moving a little" she instructed. Percy wiggled on the bed.

"Does it hurt anywhere?" Percy shook his head. "Good. Now get up. Slowly." He followed her instructions. Almost. He got up too quickly, jumping to his feet.

The girl rolled her eyes, like people disregarding her was normal. "Next time, don't get too excited. You're lucky there was nothing serious here, kid."

Percy gave her a sheepish grin.

"Ok, so I guess you're good to go, Percy Jackson" she held out a hand "Name's Laura".

Percy shook the offered hand. She continued with a smile, the kind Thalia used to give him "If you don't want to see me regularly, behave properly. I won't be nice next time around."

"I'll try not to, ma'am."

She laughed. "You better. Anyways, you'll want to check in with Steve at the entrance".

Percy nodded. "Come on, Grover." The two boys walked away, with Grover's hooves producing a clattering sound against the floor. Percy looked around and there were lots of people in the infirmary. Teenagers, all of them ranging from 11 to 19. Beside the entrance there was a small desk manned by a sixteen year old guy with dark hair and purplish eyes? Ok, why not?

The two reported to him that Percy was now leaving the infirmary, and they left. And once they were outside… Percy was stunned.

Camp was beautiful. There was lush green everywhere. He could see the buildings in the distance, mostly single-storeyed, and they all looked unique in their own right.

"Come with me, Perce. You need to talk to Chiron."

"Chiron? As in the Chiron? Trainer of Heroes?"

"That's the one, Percy. He's the activities director here."

That makes sense. Some sense. Percy could only wonder what he was like. Chiron was a centaur. Half-man, half-horse. How does he actually teach people?

Grover led his friend across camp, where everyone was staring at him. Percy didn't understand why. They made their way to a building, the biggest in the camp it seemed. It was styled in the way of the Ancient Greeks, with rounded pillars and a triangular roof. At the top he could see a painting. The gods of Olympus. He could recognise them easily. In the centre was Zeus, holding what he assumed was his lightning bolt. A white beam glowing blue on the edges, with pointed tips on either side.

Percy averted his eyes. The picture of Zeus only reminded him of Thalia. How could Zeus let her die? His own daughter?

She isn't dead, Percy chastised himself, you'll see her again.

They were about to go through when a middle-aged man in a wheelchair came out of it.

"Ah, Grover Underwood. I see you have brought our newest addition." Then he regarded Percy. His eyes were old and wise, relaying years of experience. His hair was brown, and his face was kind. He had a kind smile, the sort of smile that Percy would consider fatherly. Not that he actually knew what it was like. He'd never known his father, and his stepfather was, well, Gabe. Fatherly was the last word he would use to describe that man.

"Come here with me, child. We have some things to discuss."

Percy followed the man in the wheelchair into the building. Inside the building was a lounge. Lots of couches with a table in the middle. To the left he could see a door, which obviously opened to a room. The walls were painted sky-blue, with a nice, tiled floor given a wooden texture.

"Grover said I have to meet the activities director, Chiron. Are you taking me to him?"

The man only chuckled, "Not exactly. I am Chiron."

"Huh?" Percy turned to look at him. He was sceptical. This was a man in a wheelchair. Chiron was a centaur. "Isn't Chiron supposed to be half-horse?"

"Indeed, Perseus. I am a centaur" he turned his neck towards Percy, "Sometimes, appearances can be deceiving."

They reached a door. There was a panel on the wall next to it. It said what Percy assumed was Chiron, Activities Director, but you never know with the letters dancing freely. Percy followed him inside the office.

Driving his wheelchair to his side of the desk, Chiron faced him and said, "I would normally start by telling you about demigods, gods and monsters. But you already know the basics. Am I correct?"

"Yes, sir."

Chiron nodded. "I believe it would be better if you asked the questions. Feel free to ask."

Percy started with questions about camp. What it was, why it existed, and so on. Chiron briefed him like a guide in a museum, and Percy thought he looked the part. The camp was for the children of gods, demigods and sometimes children of nymphs and mortals, called 'demi-nymphs'. Because of their high energy and ability to attract monsters, teenage demigods find it difficult to lead normal lives (Percy agreed) and therefore needed to spend time in an environment more suited to them. Which camp provided.

"What of my father? He's a god. Why wasn't he there when we needed him? Why don't I even know who he is?"

Chiron shook his head "It is not my place to answer on behalf of your father. That is something only he could tell you. I can tell you this, the gods have completely different lives and their affairs are incredibly complicated. There might be a good reason for him not claiming you".

Percy head went down, not believing this for a second.

"Perhaps your father gave you some clue. I'm sure you might find out."

Percy wondered what clue he could have given him. "I have this" Percy said, taking out his pen. "He gave it to my mother. As a gift for me".

Chiron studied the pen for a few seconds. He uncapped the pen, revealing the sword. Chiron studied it a little longer. Percy could swear he heard him breathe "Interesting." Then he capped it again, and returned it to Percy.

"Your father obviously gave it to you for your protection. Demigods need to fight constantly. Did you use it?"

Percy looked down again. "I didn't. Until the last fight." Percy remembered that Thalia had died. She hasn't, he reminded himself. Chiron's lips formed a thin line, looking concerned for Percy.

"I understand you were close to the girl, Thalia. You have my condolences. We don't believe she has died, as her father turned her into a tree. Meanwhile, you should get adjusted to the Camp."

There was a knock at the door.

"Come in, Annabeth."

The door opened, revealing an athletic-looking girl who was about Percy's age. She was pretty, with blonde curls like princess', and slightly taller than Percy.

She didn't look at Percy, choosing to focus on the man in the wheelchair who Percy refused to believe was a centaur.

"You called, Chiron?"

"Yes, my dear. I will introduce you to Percy Jackson. You've already seen him."

Annabeth nodded. "I had to carry him to camp."

Percy blushed. That was obviously on purpose.

"Yes. Now, I would ask you to introduce him to the camp. Get him to his new cabin. Will you?"

Annabeth regarded him for the first time. Her stormy grey eyes didn't just see him, they examined him top to bottom. Percy had the feeling she was a calculating individual, and at the moment calculating how she would take him down in a fight which made her look quite intimidating for her age.

She looked back at Chiron to accept and then asked Percy to come with her.

"I hope you will find camp to be home. Good luck, Percy."

"Thanks", and with that he followed Annabeth out.

New chapter, not much in it. But hope you enjoyed. The chapter was meant to be longer, but I really wanted to publish today. The next will be up soon. That Dream Sequence is probably one of the most cliche things ever, but I really enjoyed writing it.

I was recently reading through The Inventor's Legacy by Mr Mixed Bag and realised that the first few chapters were kind of similar to mine. But it is written much better, honestly. So go and give it a read as well.